


nothing but a fool (for you)

by lovecity (xies)



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: 6dream are in a band together, Alternate Universe - 1980s, Alternate Universe - High School, Coming of Age, Drinking, Light Angst, M/M, Small Towns, Swearing, ex best friends to lovers, teenage angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-17
Updated: 2021-02-17
Packaged: 2021-03-12 09:27:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,900
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29507598
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xies/pseuds/lovecity
Summary: Amidst the heated and chaotic summer of 89’, Lee Donghyuck is struggling. As if his impending graduation, college apps, and the plans with his band weren’t enough, he’s hit with the news of Mark coming back after a year of being away for college. The problem? Donghyuck might not be quite over his feelings for his ex best friend as he once thought he was.(or: a Markhyuck small town au where Mark comes back from college looking ten times hotter, and consequently, makes Donghyuck’s life ten times harder.)
Relationships: Lee Donghyuck | Haechan/Mark Lee
Comments: 3
Kudos: 114
Collections: Love Dream 2020





	nothing but a fool (for you)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [princehuangss](https://archiveofourown.org/users/princehuangss/gifts).



> Dear Ginny:
> 
> Well, this is quite... something. I really just wanted to write something light hearted and cute and funny but instead it turned up liked this I'm sorry haha TT Donghyuck's character may seem a bit complicated at first, but bear with him. He's just going through a lot ;; Anyway, thank you for your prompts, I love them all and had such a hard time deciding on which one to write. I hope you enjoy this one :D  
> love, anon
> 
> _There's a[playlist](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/66oVAd8emC5qlUyUDm2VO8?si=9E0eE_LwTc6_fQ4iA0J0xw)!_
> 
> Disclaimer: There's some drinking here! Donghyuck is 18, so technically it's not underage drinking, but he's still in high school, so please be aware of that.

♫

For the third time in less than five minutes, Donghyuck adjusts himself on his seat, groaning when it doesn’t do anything to relieve the dull ache on his lower back. He can feel Jisung’s knee digging on his right side, and what appears to be Renjun’s elbow on his left. And really, Jaemin’s car isn’t very spacious to begin with, but the real problem is sharing the tiny back seat with two other people, and three on the worst days, like this one.

Jaemin stops the car abruptly, muttering a loud _oops_ , and Donghyuck curses under his breath, grabbing the headrest so he doesn’t crash into the front seat.

“Sorry about that, I almost went past it,” Jaemin says, looking at Donghyuck through the rearview mirror, shooting him a remorseful smile as he pulls the cat to the side. “But we are finally here!”

“Don’t worry, Nana,” Jeno says, smiling at Jaemin, quick to forgive him. Damn Lee Jeno and his best friend's privilege, because he always gets the front passenger seat and doesn’t get to suffer Jaemin’s terrible driving abilities.

Donghyuck jumps out of the car fits, and takes a deep breath. The cold breeze hits him immediately, as well as the warmth of the sun, and he smiles, taking it all in. He can see the beach from here, the afternoon’s sun reflecting on the sea, and it’s a beautiful sight, if he chooses to ignore the pieces of trash scattered all along the seashore, that is.

“Hey,” Renjun calls by his side, pointing at Jeno, who’s taking his guitar out of the trunk. “We’re not here for the beach, remember?”

He has half a mind to argue back, because he wasn’t even _doing_ anything, but then he sees that Renjun is biting his lip, and he’s tapping his foot incessantly on the pavement, his hands shoved deep inside the pockets of his hoodie.

He must be really nervous.

Donghyuck only hums.

Renjun looks at Jaemin, waiting for his turn to grab his bass. All their instruments are carefully piled on the trunk of Jaemin’s car, except for Jisung’s battery, for obvious reasons. After some negotiations, they managed to convince (read: _brive_ ) Jeno’s sister’s boyfriend into bringing it over later on. It was cheaper than paying for a van, anyway, and money doesn't exactly grow on trees, as Donghyuck’s grandma liked to say.

“Do you think they’re going to like us?” Renjun asks then, voice quiet. A question only for Donghyuck to hear. It's not their first time doing a show, but it’s their first time performing outside town, even if they aren’t the only ones who’ll be on stage today. It’s just a gathering for bands in an old school, and their public will be mostly other high school students, but it’s good enough.

“Of course they will,” Donghyuck says, certain, even though his hands and neck are sweaty under the relenting summer sun. He takes a deep breath, laughing. He can’t afford to be nervous right now. When he was younger, his mom used to say she didn’t know _where this kid got his confidence from._

Truth is deep down Donghyuck doesn’t know how they will do, but it doesn’t matter, because he has to _believe_ they are going to kill it. Fake it till you make it, yadda yadda yadda.

“Don’t worry, Renjun.” Donghyuck smiles, putting an encouraging hand over Renjun’s shoulder. “They are going to _love_ us.”

♪

As soon as Donghyuck is out of the stage, he strides to the improvised backstage, a room that used to serve as storage, if the boxes lying around were any indication. He takes the first bottle of water he comes across —Renjun’s, most likely— and chugs down half of it.

The euphoria is still latent on him, a rush he feels on his skin, on his fingertips, and on his brain. It’s addictive, the feeling that comes with being on stage, to perform in front of a screaming crowd, and all Donghyuck can do after is smile.

“That was so cool!” Renjun says behind him, frowning when he sees the bottle in Donghyuck’s hand. "Hey, is that my bottle?"

“Are you kidding?" Chenle says, as Donghyuck shrugs and gives Renjun his bottle back. "That wasn’t cool, that was amazing!"

"It really was," Jaemin says, side hugging Jisung with a smile on his face.

"Hyung, you're sweaty!" Jisung replies, but makes no real effort to pull away from Jaemin. He only smiles brightly, looking over at them. There's a pause, where everyone is just looking at each other, trying to cool down. “I wish Mark hyung could’ve seen us, though.”

Donghyuck stiffens at the mention of that name. It’s been a while since he’s heard it, and for a good reason. When Mark left, over a year ago, they didn’t leave their friendship on the best terms.

“Yeah,” Renjun agrees, looking straight at him. Donghyuck raises an eyebrow at him.

“He’s coming next week, right? For summer break?” Jaemin asks, taking a towel out of his bag and putting it on his nape.

Donghyuck freezes in place. He hasn’t heard anything about Mark coming back until this moment, and the news hit him like a bucket of cold, cold water.

“Yeah,” Jeno replies, tone nonchalant. “His mom told mine that he’s coming back this week."

Of course. Jeno, being Mark's cousin, was the first of them to know what was happening with him.

“That’s great!” Chenle says. “I can’t wait to beat him at basketball!”

Jaemin laughs, patting Chenle on the head. He turns to look at Jeno. “Do you know how long he is staying for?”

“All summer, apparently,” Jeno replies. “I’m not sure, though.”

Donghyuck shakes his head, turning around, and entirely tuning out the conversation. He isn’t panicking, but he can’t deny the news make him feel nervous. The memories of their last fight are still vivid, Donghyuck’s angry and hurt words, and Mark’s resigned attitude.

“I’m going to throw a welcoming party next Friday, then,” Jaemin says, putting an arm around Donghyuck. “You’re all coming, _right_?”

Everyone agrees immediately, except for him.

He turns around, only to find all of them looking at him.

Donghyuck sighs.

“Right.”

♫

Donghyuck finishes his shift at 10 pm at the store he works at from Monday to Saturday. In theory, he should be out of the store by 10:10 pm, because he has a limit of hours he can work per week. In reality, he stays for at least half an hour past that time, busy cleaning and closing the store all by himself.

He sighs, looking at the recently mopped floor before turning off the lights. He exits through the back door, locking it right after without even looking at the knob, and shoves the key inside his backpack.

His Friday shifts suck the most, because everyone’s busy doing shit while he sits at the register, and plays the only two Michael Jackson cassettes he owns, an old gift from his mom, pausing them when the occasional client comes in.

This Friday was Jaemin’s welcoming party for Mark— and while he had considered simply not showing up, Jisung had mentioned a few hours ago that he was really excited for everyone to be reunited again, and just like that, Donghyuck became _morally_ obligated to go.

He speed walks to the parking lot next to the store, and even hidden in the shadows, he easily spots Jaemin’s car. He sighs in relief. Jaemin’s house is up the hills, in the nicest part of town, so he had asked him to come pick him up, because he knew he wouldn’t feel like taking the bus after standing up for five hours.

He gets closer to the car, reaching for the passenger's door handle, and that’s when he looks to the left, and realizes it’s not actually Jaemin who’s on the driver’s seat, but _Mark Lee_.

He freezes.

Fuck.

Okay. This is _fine_. He hasn’t talked to Mark in a year, let alone seen him, but this is fine. It’s not like he can avoid him forever, in this stupidly small town. His house is just a walk away from his one, and worse, they share the same group of friends.

He takes a deep break, and opens the door.

“Hey, Hyuck,” Mark says, a familiar smile falling into place. “Long time no see.”

“Yeah,” Donghyuck replies, forcing himself to smile back before he closes the door. Donghyuck fastens his seatbelt, and puts his backpack on his lap. He adjusts himself on the seat, a sinking feeling on the bottom of his stomach he can’t get rid off.

“How are you?” Mark asks, starting the car, but still looking at him.

“I’m fine,” he says, as Mark puts a hand on Donghyuck’s headrest to look back before putting reverse, even when there’s no one else at the parking lot. Donghyuck looks at him, and he swallows. “How was your trip?” He asks, looking outside to avoid locking eyes with him.

And fuck him, really. Because Mark looks good, his hair, that he used to style in an ugly bowl cut, is now stylized to the side, and short at the sides. It suits him. He’s not wearing his glasses, so Donghyuck assumes he must be using contact lenses now.

“I’m good, but tired,” Mark replies, moving back to his seat, and pulling the car out of the parking lot. “I spent ten hours sitting on a bus and now my back is sore.”

“Uh,” Donghyuck hums, fidgeting with the straps of his backpack. “Sorry you had to wait for me, then.”

“Oh no, don’t worry! I wasn’t waiting that long anyway, haha,” Mark replies. His eyes are on the road now, so Donghyuck can at least try to breathe calmly again. “So...”

“So?” Donghyuck asks, impatient.

Mark laughs. It’s still the same laugh Donghyuck is used to, a bit loud and boyish, but so him. It reminds him of other summers, lying on Donghyuck’s bed, listening to Off the Wall and Thriller on repeat. “You wanna put some music on?”

“It's alright,” Donghyuck says then, looking out of the window again. He doesn’t feel like talking anymore. “We’re only fifteen minutes away, anyway.”

“ _Oh_ ,” Mark says. If he’s disappointed, Donghyuck doesn’t catch it. “Okay, then.”

♪

Mark’s welcoming party turns out to be not at all like a small gathering, but more like a full on party. Then again, this was Jaemin. Donghyuck shouldn’t have expected anything else from him.

There’s groups of people walking towards Jaemin’s house, people that Donghyuck is sure aren’t even from their school. The noise coming from inside the house is loud enough that Donghyuck is sure they would get in trouble if Jaemin’s dad wasn’t the mayor.

“Uh,” Mark says, as they try to make their way inside the house, already brimming with people. Before Donghyuck can make up an excuse to leave, Mark puts a hand on his shoulder, and says, “Wait here, I’ll bring something to drink. Jaemin said you like beer.” Donghyuck raises an eyebrow. “You do, right?”

There’s a beat of awkward silence between them, where Donghyuck ponders if he should try to ditch him altogether, but then Mark looks at him with hopeful eyes, and Donghyuck swallows.

Even after a year, he finds it hard to say no to Mark.

“Yeah,” he says. “I’ll wait.”

♪

Things are still awkward between them. Because no matter how hard Mark tries to make small talk with him, Donghyuck can’t look at him without remembering the last words Mark said to him before leaving.

It’s unfair, really, but he can’t help it. Those words had been like a punch to the guts.

_Grow up, Donghyuck. The world doesn’t revolve around you._

Donghyuck remembers the way he’d been so furious that it seemed like his anger was spilling out of him and going up the walls, and making everything a lousy red.

Now, looking back at it, he can see why he’d gotten so defensive. He wasn’t just angry, but he was also hurt.

Because Mark had been right.

Back then, and even up until now, Donghyuck had been nothing but a fool.

♪

Hours later, Donghyuck doesn't know how he ends up sitting on the couch next to Jeno and Mark, but he's grateful to not be alone. Jaemin and Renjun were nowhere to be seen, while Chenle and Jisung went home a long time ago, way before midnight.

He has been drunk a grand total of two times in his whole life, but judging by the way the room is spinning, he must be it right now. He had stopped drinking a while ago, after a couple of beers, but then again he hadn't eaten anything since lunch, and he was running on six hours of sleep tops.

"I'm gonna get you water,” Jeno says. He doesn't sound annoyed, just concerned. "You wait here, Donghyuck.”

Donghyuck has half a mind to protest, because he's tired of people asking him to _wait, wait, wait._

 _Wait_ for Mark to come back with beers, _wait_ for Jaemin and Renjun to get their shit together, _wait_ for the results of his college applications, _wait_ for something to happen in this stupid boring town.

He stays quiet instead, taking a deep breath. The house is less crowded now, but there's still a lot of people left, and he doesn't feel like storming out right now. It’s not like he even can.

 _Take my breath away_ starts playing in the background, and Donghyuck snorts as he watches the people on the dance floor ( _read_ : Jaemin's living room) start looking for partners to dance this song to. This is surely Jaemin's doing, because only he could play such a sappy song on a fucking party.

"Hey," Mark says, putting a hand on his shoulder and startling him. He flinches. "Sorry, Hyuck."

Donghyuck narrows his eyes. "Can you stop calling me that?"

"Uh, sorry," Mark says, pulling back his hand like it burned.

And he doesn’t know what makes him say what he’s going to say next, or why he uses the tone he uses, but he opens his mouth and suddenly all he wants is for Mark to shut up. "Stop saying sorry, Mark," Donghyuck replies, quick and poisonous.

"Sorr—" Donghyuck narrows his eyes, and Mark visibly flinches again. "Okay, yeah."

The worst part is that Donghyuck doesn't mean it. He really doesn't. It's just... It's just _hard_. It's hard to look at Mark, who looks stupidly handsome even under the dimmed lights of Jaemin's living room, surrounded by the chaos of people dancing and drinking and moving around them.

The room isn't spinning anymore, because Mark is the only thing Donghyuck can focus on right now, the highness of his cheekbones, the way his black hair almost falls into his eyes, the way he's changed so much yet so little in the time Donghyuck hasn't seen him, while Donghyuck is still stuck here, in this exact same place, like a year ago.

He doesn’t mean it because it’s not even Mark’s fault, and it hurts that he’s the one saying sorry, like it wasn't Donghyuck’s fault too what happened between them back then, and now.

Donghyuck wants to say something else, anything, but the words die in his throat, and he can’t bring himself to think about this anymore without the stupid urge to cry. Mark looks torn between saying something more and just letting him be, but he doesn’t need to make a decision, because there's a cup of water shoved into his hands, and Donghyuck takes it, backing up from Mark.

"Thank you, Jen."

Jeno nods absently, looking around him. Donghyuck already knows what (or more like _who_ ) he’s looking for.

"I'm gonna check on Jaemin and Renjun.”

Donghyuck raises an eyebrow. "Are you sure you want to do that?"

"It's okay," Jeno says, shrugging. "Mark's here, so you’ll be fine, right?”

Donghyuck holds his gaze for a second, and while he doesn’t want to stay alone with Mark for any second longer, he also doesn’t want to hold Jeno back.

“Yeah,” he finally says.

“Are you going home?” Mark asks, as Jeno gives him a quick smile and a pat on the back before walking away.

“I’m just gonna crash on one of the spare rooms,” Donghyuck says. He already knows his way around Jaemin’s house, so he doesn’t wait for Mark before standing up. At least he feels good enough to walk on his own now. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees Renjun and Jaemin in the middle of the room, slow dancing together in a sea of people, an intimate moment that feels wrong to look at.

He looks away.

“G’night,” he says, putting a hand on the handrail of the stairs.

Donghyuck doesn’t expect Mark to follow him, but it still stings when he doesn’t.

“Goodnight, Donghyuck."

♫

Donghyuck wakes up with a headache, eats lunch with a headache, and goes to work with a headache.

He spends the first half an hour of his shift drinking orange juice, and the next half wishing death because apparently the Devil decided to bring hell to earth today, just on the same day the only fan seems to have broken down.

He’s trying to fix it when Jaemin drops by, the keys of his car dangling on his hand.

“What are you doing here?” Donghyuck asks, as he cleans the blades of the fan. He’d settled for doing that since he doesn’t even know how to open the damn thing to look at it. And it’s not like it would magically fix it, but they were pretty nasty, so.

“I was passing by, thought I’d say hi,” Jaemin says, plopping down on the cashier seat.

“You live on the other side of town,” Donghyuck says, unamused.

“Like this town is so big,” Jaemin says, pouting. Donghyuck raises an eyebrow, holding his gaze, and after a moment Jaemin finally caves in. “Okay, fine. I was hiding from my dad. He found out about the party,” Donghyuck lets out a sigh of sympathy. “Let’s just say he wasn’t exactly happy.”

“Well, if you only didn’t invite literally half the town to the party,” Donghyuck says, looking at the fan again. It's clean now. He pushes the power button, and it turns on for a few seconds before stopping altogether again.

He frowns.

“Whatever, he’s going to forget it tomorrow,” Jaemin replies. He puts his arms on the counter, leaning his body forward. “So,” he says, smiling. It’s a smile he knows all too well. Damn it. “Care to explain what happened between you and Mark?”

“Nothing.” Donghyuck is quick to reply.

“Reaally?” Jaemin says, emphasizing the vocal. “Because an insider told me—”

“Jeno didn’t see anything,” Donghyuck cuts him off. “Because nothing happened.”

“ _Right_ ,” Jaemin says, both of his hands on his cheeks, an amused expression on his face. “You know—” he says, and Donghyuck wishes he would stop. He doesn’t want to talk about this. “There’s nothing wrong with how you feel about him.”

Donghyuck sighs. Jaemin won’t stop bugging him about this, he knows that, and it’s not like he can’t walk away, because he _works_ here. Jaemin is actually smart, choosing to talk about this in the only place Donghyuck can’t avoid him.

Donghyuck sighs again.

“It’s not that,” Donghyuck says after a moment, defeated. Might as well just let it out. “It’s not what I feel, but it’s more like—” he hesitates, wondering how he can explain it, when he doesn’t fully understand it himself. “I guess it doesn’t matter how _I_ feel, because we both want different things.”

“Have you even asked him what he wants?” Jaemin asks.

Donghyuck hates this, because Jaemin knows exactly how to nudge him, and it’s not without a reason. He knows both Mark and Donghyuck from when they were kids. He was the first person to notice Donghyuck’s crush on Mark, apart from Renjun. He’d always been observant like that.

“He goes to a college like, three hours away from here, _by plane_ ,” Donghyuck answers, moving his arms, exasperated. “We haven’t even talked in a year,” he pauses. “At this point, I don’t think there’s much more left to ask.”

Jaemin shakes his head. “You keep telling yourself that, Hyuckie,” he says. He’s smiling, but it’s his parenting smile, the one he uses when he’s disappointed at one of them. Donghyuck hates it the most. “But you and I,” he says, standing up from the chair and clapping his hands. “We both know that’s not true.”

Donghyuck thinks of flipping him off, but Jaemin laughs, giving him a hug.

“Great talk, but I need to go. Tell Jeno to give me a call if you need anything.”

“Thanks,” Donghyuck says. “But no thanks.”

The door’s bell rings as he opens the door. Jaemin’s laugh is the last thing he hears before he puts on his headphones again, and Pretty Young Thing starts playing once again.

♫

When Monday comes around, he isn’t as excited as he thought he would be. It’s his official last week of school, and although he can almost feel the sweet taste of freedom, the thought of this being his last summer in town feels a lot more bittersweet than expected. It’s not because of the town per se, because, honestly, fuck this town, but more because of his friends. This will be their last summer together as a band, and they plan to spend it playing as much as they can.

At school, Jaemin shows up with a polaroid camera he allegedly stole from his grandpa. He takes various pictures of Jeno and Renjun, but when it’s his turn, Donghyuck refuses.

He has never liked pictures anyway.

“C’mon!” Renjun nudges at him, side hugging him with a smile. Jaemin points the camera at them, and before Donghyuck can move away, Jeno is holding him from the other side. Jaemin starts counting, and Donghyuck panics.

“Rock and roll, baby!” Jaemin exclaims.

Donghyuck smiles, and the flash goes off.

♪

One of the good things about graduation, he thinks as he walks up to his classroom, it’s that he’s not going to have to see science again.

As he finishes his last final, that he’s sure he’s going to have a barely passing score, he walks up to the teacher with a big, satisfied smile on his face.

As soon as he is outside, he puts his arms on the air. “Fuck science!” he yells.

Someone shush him.

 _“Fuck science!”_ he mutters back, because even though he definitely means it, his mother had always taught him to be a respectful boy.

♪

That day, he shows up ten minutes late to work, but it’s okay, because the girl right before his shift is an actual angel. Ryujin doesn’t say anything, just greets him, and hands him over the register.

His shift goes by slowly, nothing much happening, like everyday in this boring town.

It’s only five minutes before the closing time when Mark shows up.

“Uh,” Mark says, greeting him from afar. “Hi.”

“Hey,” Donghyuck says, glancing at him before coming back to the magazine he was reading. He briefly wonders if Mark had just walked in without knowing Donghyuck worked here, or if any of their friends had told him to look for him here, but after a moment, he realizes it’s pointless to think about that.

“Here,” Mark says, sliding an apple pop tart and a soda into the counter. Donghyuck puts the magazine aside, and scans his items.

“That’ll be $5.50.”

Mark hands him a ten dollar bill, and smiles. “Thanks.”

Mark, always the polite boy. Donghyuck sighs.

“No problem,” Donghyuck says, putting his items in a bag.

He looks up as he hands him the bag and the change, and Mark’s fingers graze his hand when handing him the bag, and Donghyuck’s heart stammers. He looks up and it’s met with Mark’s steady gaze on him, a shy smile on his face, and Donghyuck almost drops the bag onto the floor.

Mark’s back to wearing his glasses, and his hair is all messed up, and he looks soft and handsome, so beautiful, and _damn it_ , _fuck it_ , because even after a year, Donghyuck is still _so_ in love with this boy.

Instead of taking his things, Mark puts a hand over Donghyuck’s.

“Hyuck, I—”

Donghyuck flinches, dropping the things on the counter. “Can we just—” he says, swallowing hard. “Not do this? I can’t do this, Mark.”

When Mark had quitted the band he’d been angry. He’s been angry and scared of everything changing, of Mark leaving everything behind, but he’d also been happy for him.

He can’t do it because it’s been a year, and he has realized that he doesn't want, he _can’t possibly_ hold what happened against him— because Mark was made for big things, not a stupid high school band that was going to separate anyway. He was made for college on the other side of the country, while Donghyuck was still stuck here, will be stuck here unless he works his ass off for an opportunity he doesn't if it will come.

Because this is Mark Lee, the same boy who saw him cry after being rejected by one of the seniors he had a crush on, and had been there by his side when his mom had died. The same boy who’s always considerate and understanding, who sees people by what they are and doesn’t try to change them, the one who always has a kind smile for him.

And he’s missed him so much. He’s missed his best friend, seeing him, talking to him, laughing with him.

“I don’t want to fight anymore, Mark,” Donghyuck says. He’s scared, but he’s also _so_ tired of being angry all the time. “I’m sorry.”

Mark seems taken aback, because he opens his mouth, and closes it again. His eyes are wide open, and he scowls a bit before smiling at him.

“I forgive you,” Mark says then, reaching for his hand again across the counter. This time, Donghyuck lets himself be pulled by him. “And I’m sorry too, Donghyuck.”

Mark hugs him, and Donghyuck hugs him back, his arms over Mark’s shoulders, holding him tightly.

Mark’s embrace is warm and familiar, and Donghyuck sighs. There are tears in his eyes that he’s trying to not let fall. “I hate you for making me cry like this.”

Mark chuckles. “I love you too, Hyuck.”

“Stop it,” Donghyuck says, patting his arm when Mark doesn’t stop laughing softly in his ear. “It’s not funny.”

“I can’t help it,” Mark says, chuckling one last time. “Because I’m happy.”

Donghyuck’s breath hitches at those words, and he pulls back from Mark. Donghyuck looks at him, at Mark’s pretty eyes crinkling, at his side smile, and the mole on his cheek.

“You have to know—” He says, pausing to swallow down. He needs to say it. It’s been a year, and he can finally say it. “That I like you. Not just as friends, Mark,” he pauses, trying to weigh Mark’s reaction. “I’ve loved you for a long time.”

Just like that, it’s over, everything he’s been holding back from saying for years out in the open. It feels liberating, even if he doesn’t know if Mark feels the same way or not. It doesn’t matter, now. He can take it. Whatever Mark has to say, he can take it.

Mark smiles, taking Donghyuck’s hand between his fingers again from across the counter. Just like that, Donghyuck knows everything is going to be alright.

“I love you too, Donghyuck,” he says, almost a whisper, but Donghyuck knows he means it.

Donghyuck tightens the grip on his hand. “A year late, but good to know,” he says.

Mark chuckles. “I guess we were being fools.”

“Only for you, baby,” Donghyuck says, smiling. He lets go of Mark’s hand, and walks up to the other side of the counter.

Mark smiles as Donghyuck gives him a kiss on the cheek. “So,” Mark says, holding him by the waist. “What now?”

“Well,” Donghyuck says, their faces close. He points around with his finger. “Now, I close the store,” he adds with a wink.

Mark laughs, a short sound, boyish and loud, and Donghyuck can’t help but smile.

He leans in, and kisses Mark on the tip of his nose.

♪

He doesn’t clean the store. He turns off the lights, looking away from the probably dirty floor, wondering if whoever works the first Sunday shift will forgive him. He exits through the back door, locking it right after without even looking at the knob.

Mark is already waiting for him at the other side, offering him his hand with a smile. Donghyuck smiles back, taking his hand and intertwining their fingers together.

They share their first kiss in the back of the store, Mark pressed against the concrete wall. Donghyuck kisses him, one, two, three times. He's kissed people before— his neighbor, when he was ten, and Jaemin, when they were fourteen, but this is different.

He doesn't know what lies ahead of them, if Mark will wait for him, if they will make it to college together, but for now, Mark gasping for air between his arms, Donghyuck decides it doesn’t matter.

He can enjoy this for now.

The future awaits for them.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading <3 Hope you enjoyed!!!
> 
> For anyone who's curious, here are 6dream roles in the band ^^  
> Jeno: guitar  
> Jaemin: bass  
> Renjun: keyboard, backing vocals  
> Donghyuck: lead vocal  
> Jisung: drums, percussion  
> Chenle: guitar, backing vocals


End file.
